In the Paiute village at Corn Creek, Sally and Awan see two riders approach. The men are from the party that rode south with Chief Kanosh, and their horses are exhausted and bloodied, signaling that something has gone wrong with the raid on the gentile wagon train. 

Inola sends Awan to the elders’ meeting and tells Sally to take the depleted horses to the creek for water. While watching the animals, Sally reflects on her growing affection for Awan, a feeling that contrasts sharply with her dread of her husband Kanosh’s return. She fears what will happen when he comes back to her wickiup at night. Her thoughts are interrupted when one of the horses groans and collapses.

The narrative shifts to Katrina Huff on the first day of the siege at Mountain Meadows. The emigrants are trapped in a defensive circle of wagons, pinned down by snipers hidden along a river. They have dug a large trench for cover. Nine members of their party, including America Dunlap and Josiah Miller, are dead, and five men, including Katrina’s brother-in-law Uri, are wounded. Their water supply is nearly gone, as they had planned to replenish it from the river that morning.